(7) Iris
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	27 Aug 2026	11.5	2.831 AU	3.635 AU	12h13m	-05°39'	32.2°	11.0°
Opposition	25 May 2027	9.5	2.889 AU	1.876 AU	16h05m	-23°11'	177.7°	0.8°

The interactive orbit chart above shows the body's path through the solar system and its position at the given date. Green and blue lines are shown perpendicular to the ecliptic plane: Green if the path is above the ecliptic plane, blue if it is below. (Left-click and drag to rotate the view; Right-click and drag to move the view; Use scroll wheel to zoom in our out.)

The orbital elements of Iris are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2302746
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.3857463
            i (Inclination)                 : 5.51857
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 259.48510
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 145.40717
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 115.29166
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 225.01657
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 3.12983
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.68            
        

The light curve chart below shows the estimated development of the minor planet's magnitude.

The all-sky chart below shows the path of the minor planet over the same period as the light curve. The current position is marked yellow.

The following chart shows the path of the minor planet in the next few days. The field of view is optimized for (~10x50) binoculars and finderscopes.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-08-27 00:00 UT   12 13 33.9   -05 39 03     3.635    2.831   32.2   11.0   120   11.5 
2026-08-27 03:33 UT   12 13 46.3   -05 40 15     3.636    2.831   32.1   10.9   120   11.5 
2026-08-28 00:00 UT   12 14 58.1   -05 47 16     3.643    2.832   31.6   10.8   120   11.5 
2026-08-29 00:00 UT   12 16 22.4   -05 55 30     3.651    2.834   31.0   10.6   120   11.5 
2026-08-30 00:00 UT   12 17 46.9   -06 03 45     3.659    2.835   30.4   10.4   120   11.5 
2026-08-31 00:00 UT   12 19 11.5   -06 12 01     3.667    2.836   29.8   10.2   120   11.5 
2026-09-01 00:00 UT   12 20 36.2   -06 20 18     3.675    2.837   29.2   10.0   120   11.4 
2026-09-02 00:00 UT   12 22 01.1   -06 28 35     3.682    2.838   28.7    9.8   120   11.4 
2026-09-03 00:00 UT   12 23 26.1   -06 36 54     3.690    2.840   28.1    9.6   120   11.4 
2026-09-04 00:00 UT   12 24 51.3   -06 45 14     3.697    2.841   27.5    9.4   121   11.4 
2026-09-05 00:00 UT   12 26 16.6   -06 53 34     3.704    2.842   26.9    9.2   121   11.4 
2026-09-06 00:00 UT   12 27 42.0   -07 01 55     3.712    2.843   26.3    9.0   121   11.4 
2026-09-07 00:00 UT   12 29 07.5   -07 10 17     3.719    2.845   25.7    8.8   121   11.4 
2026-09-08 00:00 UT   12 30 33.2   -07 18 39     3.725    2.846   25.1    8.7   121   11.4 
2026-09-09 00:00 UT   12 31 58.9   -07 27 02     3.732    2.847   24.6    8.5   121   11.4 
2026-09-10 00:00 UT   12 33 24.8   -07 35 25     3.739    2.848   24.0    8.3   122   11.4 
2026-09-11 00:00 UT   12 34 50.9   -07 43 49     3.745    2.849   23.4    8.1   122   11.4 
2026-09-12 00:00 UT   12 36 17.0   -07 52 14     3.751    2.850   22.8    7.9   122   11.4 
2026-09-13 00:00 UT   12 37 43.3   -08 00 39     3.757    2.851   22.2    7.7   122   11.4 
2026-09-14 00:00 UT   12 39 09.6   -08 09 04     3.763    2.853   21.6    7.5   122   11.4 
2026-09-15 00:00 UT   12 40 36.1   -08 17 29     3.769    2.854   21.1    7.3   123   11.4 
2026-09-16 00:00 UT   12 42 02.7   -08 25 55     3.775    2.855   20.5    7.1   123   11.4 
2026-09-17 00:00 UT   12 43 29.4   -08 34 20     3.781    2.856   19.9    6.9   123   11.4 
2026-09-18 00:00 UT   12 44 56.2   -08 42 46     3.786    2.857   19.3    6.7   123   11.4 

    Terminology:
            
    delta:  distance between minor planet and earth in AU
    radius: distance between minor planet and sun in AU
    magn:   magnitude (brightness) estimate    
    ra:     right ascension in hours (24h = 360deg)
    dec:    declination in degrees
    elong:  elongation in degrees (angle sun-earth-minor planet)    
    phase:  phase angle in degrees (angle sun-minor planet-earth)        
    AU:     Astronomical Unit (mean distance between earth and sun: 149597870.7 km
    

Orbital elements provided by the MPC (Minor Planet Center).
Calculations by a modified version of AAPlus, a C# implementation of the AA+ project by PJ Naughter from the algorithms presented in the book "Astronomical Algorithms" by Jean Meeus.
NGC2000 dso catalog and star labels from VizieR as provided by the Strasbourg astronomical Data Center.
Tycho2 catalog from the ESO archive.